All Things Fascination

[daytonadan]

Hi...I'm looking for pre cruise ideas. We will be staying Fri-Sun night in either Savannah or maybe St. Augustine. Mon. morning we will drive to the port. I know it will be chilly, but we love a beach! Any suggestions on where to go, stay and what to do? Thanks so much!

 

I am not sure when race week in Daytona will be, some hotels in st augustine are busy during race week.

 

st augustine has the historic district, clubs ,shopping tours , food etc, very touristy and if you have kids take them to the fort.

if you stay there check the hotels at st augustine beach, most on the ocean.

from st augustine you will be about 45 minutes south of the port . also check amelia island and fernandina beach if you want just beach

daytonadan

[happycruiser201]

Just back this am and will do a review, but just wanted to say that we had a great time, even though we were not able to get on the ship until after 3 pm on 9/25/08. From what we heard during the trip back on Wednesday night they ran into some bad weather and had to slow down, that put them behind docking Thursday morning. We arrived at the pier around 11:30 and sat there in the parking lot until about 3 pm. Once we got into the terminal everything went smooth, we were on the ship in no time. I guess it was around 6 (maybe sooner or maybe alittle later not real sure), when we finally sailed. Sail away was great, it got alittle rocky once we got to the ocean but by the next day everything was ok. We could not have asked for better weather.

 

Buffet was a buffet, some good some not so good. The Imagination dining room was great and our waiter Kenneth and Kendall his assistant were awesome.

 

The cabin U97 was great, I do have some pictures, my camera was having issues. We could not have asked for a better room steward. Her name was Deliah (sp?).

 

This was the 1st time we have used Camp Carnival and loved it!

 

We rented a room from Comfort Suites to do Atlantis. It was $203 and we had to get 3 rooms as there was 9 people in our group. I rented the rooms online from Choicehotels.com while we were at sea on Friday. Took a taxi to Atlantis $8 per person round trip. Food at Atlantis is EXPENSIVE!!!!! and I will not say any more about that. I knew before but now I know for sure why they say on the shopping maps NOT to rent mopeds! There was a back up on the bridge going back to the ship from Atlantis, as we were going up the bridge an ambulance came by, once we got to the accident sight there was a lady sitting on the ground, it appeared she had been riding the mpoed, she had VERY bad road rash on her leg. Was not a pretty sight. They drive crazy over there, not way would I rent a scooter or moped.

 

Did not do anything in Freeport.

 

Awesome get away. I would do it again in a minute.

 

Also I have to suggest that any one coming in to take this cruise come onto Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach area. Awesome place to stay and maybe 20 min from the port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kindercruiser]

daytonadan, thanks for the feedback! :D I think I'm going to stick with this plan and I will look into whether or not the hotel has a shuttle to the pier. Thanks again!

[daytonadan]

daytonadan, thanks for the feedback! :D I think I'm going to stick with this plan and I will look into whether or not the hotel has a shuttle to the pier. Thanks again!

your welcome, enjoy. a side note I saw the ship tied up this morning at 7am, and when I crossed the dames point at 5;30 she had just pulled away from the pier and was heading down the river....

daytonadan

[daytonadan]

kicking this back to page 1, cause I'm too tired to hunt around for it

daytonadan

[homeofthedogs]

daytonadan - thanks for all the help. Your a bundle of information and we all appreciate it very much.....

 

Sailing on Fascination in January. Merry Christmas to me....:0

[Quincella]

This was the 1st time we have used Camp Carnival and loved it!

 

Can you tell me the age of your little one? I have two that will be using Camp Carnival in April. They have always liked the kids clubs on ships, but they've never been on Carnival.

[taliacamp]

We were on in May and had a ball. If you'll be on her after she moves to Jax, I believe that will be after her refurb. If so, you'll really enjoy her then!

 

The staff were great, I love that the ship is smaller and the rooms were fine.

 

Here's a link to my review:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=41726

Hi! We are thinking about taking the Fascination out of Jax in May to the Bahamas. Are there balcony rooms or just suites? Also we are taking my parents and it will be their first cruise, my Dad's a pretty big guy, are the bathrooms a descent size? We traveled on the Carribean Princess in May and I'm an average sized girl and I thought the shower stall was tiny. Would they be better off getting a junior suite? Thanks for any of your help!:o

[cruiseapril]

happycruiser- Looking forward to your review and photos.

 

What did you like about your cabin?

[cruiseapril]

talia- We are booked on the Fascination - the balconies all seem to be on the Category 11 or 12 suites on Fantasy Class ships.

 

From our experience, Carnival's bathrooms are fairly spacious compared to some others.

[schmoozin]

Can you tell me the age of your little one? I have two that will be using Camp Carnival in April. They have always liked the kids clubs on ships, but they've never been on Carnival.

 

I traveled this time last year on Fantasy with 4 kids ages 14, 11, 9, 6. The 14 year old went to Camp a couple of times, but more enjoyed his freedom. The others LOVED Camp Carnival and BEG to go back. The 9 and 11 year old could sign themselves in and out and were there as often as they could be, found immediate friends to hang out with coming and going. They loved being able to leave and eat pizza and icecream whenever the thought struck. The 6 y/o loved being there. She needed to be signed in and out by a parent and would make sure that she didn't miss her times! It was a great time to cruise with kids as the camps had plenty of kids but there we adults never felt over run. October is my favorite time to cruise, with and without kids.:)

[schmoozin]

Hi! We are thinking about taking the Fascination out of Jax in May to the Bahamas. Are there balcony rooms or just suites? Also we are taking my parents and it will be their first cruise, my Dad's a pretty big guy, are the bathrooms a descent size? We traveled on the Carribean Princess in May and I'm an average sized girl and I thought the shower stall was tiny. Would they be better off getting a junior suite? Thanks for any of your help!:o

 

I traveled with my brother ( a rather large guy, wouldn't want to cross him in a dark alley) on a Fantasy Class ship, he never once complained about the size of his cabin, shower or bathroom. I'm not sure of the difference with the suite upgrade, but Carnival bathrooms are decent size and you really don't fell as though you have to "back out to turn around!" or step outside to "change your mind".

[Quincella]

I traveled this time last year on Fantasy with 4 kids ages 14, 11, 9, 6. The 14 year old went to Camp a couple of times, but more enjoyed his freedom. The others LOVED Camp Carnival and BEG to go back. The 9 and 11 year old could sign themselves in and out and were there as often as they could be, found immediate friends to hang out with coming and going. They loved being able to leave and eat pizza and icecream whenever the thought struck. The 6 y/o loved being there. She needed to be signed in and out by a parent and would make sure that she didn't miss her times! It was a great time to cruise with kids as the camps had plenty of kids but there we adults never felt over run. October is my favorite time to cruise, with and without kids.:)

 

Thanks!

[schmoozin]

While cruising last year on Fantasy Class ship, there were a few "large passengers" traveling together. My dh was aboard an elevator which, as it rose from lower (lowly) cabins, became rather full.... a couple, weighing combined about 500+lbs, decided to board. When the over limit bells started to go, and this larger couple insisted on boarding the already crowded elevator, he decided it was time to take the stairs - for the rest of the cruise...

 

I could barely get him to consider an elevator after that! :confused:

[daytonadan]

daytonadan - thanks for all the help. Your a bundle of information and we all appreciate it very much.....

 

Sailing on Fascination in January. Merry Christmas to me....:0

 

Your quite welcome, and an early Merry Christmas to you. If I can help anyone more than glad to.

I'm stuck on dry land till Febuary,(gotta work to pay for play) then I get my 3peat on the Fantasy out of Nola. We are considering changing the conquest crazies for a b to b on the fastination...

daytonadan

[BEEZALAR]

We leave in 9 days for a b2b....will let ya all know how it goes. 1st cruise is me and dh. second we will be joined by 3 dds,sils and 4 grands. Grands are 4, 3, and 2 will get to try out camp carnival for the first time. been packing all day:D .Trisha

[jbhcw]

Beezalar, have a great cruise and come back and tell us all about it:)

[Hockey Addict]

Hi everyone...

 

There was another article in the newspaper this morning about our wonderful little piece of heaven.... The Fascination.... for the locals, it was in the Lifestyle section.....

 

Here's a link with pics..... http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/100508/lif_339996104.shtml

 

Enjoy!

[daytonadan]

We leave in 9 days for a b2b....will let ya all know how it goes. 1st cruise is me and dh. second we will be joined by 3 dds,sils and 4 grands. Grands are 4, 3, and 2 will get to try out camp carnival for the first time. been packing all day:D .Trisha

Enjoy, let me know how the b2b transition works at jaxport....

daytonadan

[BEEZALAR]

Enjoy, let me know how the b2b transition works at jaxport....

 

daytonadan

 

Sure will! This will be our first b2b and hopefully not our last:D

[homeofthedogs]

Hockey Addict, thanks for the article. I really enjoyed reading it.

 

Beezalar - enjoy your cruise and we will wait for your return to hear all about it. Your from my neck of the woods. I'm north of Charlotte, Concord, Nascar Hall of Fame.....

 

Happy Cruising to All!

[daytonadan]

just a little push back to page one

daytonadan

[tigeringa]

Thanks for the great feedback in this thread.

 

I live in Atlanta, so we try to keep the vacation costs down by finding a port that is driving distance. We took the Holiday out of Mobile last year and, after reading this thread, we booked the Fascination for next month.

[Smoofdaddy]

We just got off the Fascination on 9/29 and had a great laid back cruise. For those that were discussing the bridge that you go under (Sorry I dont know the name) here are some pictures that I took.

 

 

 

 

 

[jwjax]

We just got off the Fascination on 9/29 and had a great laid back cruise. For those that were discussing the bridge that you go under (Sorry I dont know the name) here are some pictures that I took.

 

The bridge is called the Dames Point, but it is really named Napoleon Bonaparte Broward bridge in the records.

 

So, Smoofdaddy, how was your cruise? I've been seeing some really diverse reports about the food, and the ship.

 

jw:cool: